Marker for planters.



L. J. LINDSAY.

MARKER FOR PLANTERS. APPLIG'ATION FILED JUNE ze, 1909.

Patented Api. 5, E910.

2 SHBETS-SHEET l.

L. [L LINDSAY.

MARKER FOR PLANTERS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE ze, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

all

@lille LERGY J. LNBSAY, OF SEYi/GUR, OWA.

MARKER EGP. PLANTERS.

Application filed .Tune 26, i905).

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 5, i921@ Serial loA 504,512

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, Lnnor d'. LINDsar, a citizen ot the lUnited States, residing at Seymour, in the county ot lVayne and State ot Iowa, have invented a certain new and usetul lvlarlier lor Planters, of which the tollowing a specification.

My invention relates to that class of marl(- ers for planting devices in which two marker arms are l)rovided on opposite sides ot the machii'ie 'rame and means are arranged 'tor automatically moving them from marking position to an ele rvated position at rest, said means being actuated by the vturning of the planter at the ends ot the rows.

lily object is to provide, improved means ot simple, durable, and inexpensive construction whereby eaehmarler arm when moving to its elevated, inoperative position will be 'turned at such an angle that when its su p porting chain is slaclened, it. will readily and easily move by gravity downwardly and outwardly toward the ground, and when it strikes the ground, it. will then swing outwardly relative to the planter to the desired position tor marking.

A further object is to provide an arm supporting device so arranged that when the planter is being transported from place Ato place without being operatedA` it may be manually turned to such a position that the forward end ot the marker arm will rest upon a part oli the planter and ordinary strains upon the pivotal oint ot the marker arm will be thereby relieved.

lily invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination otl the various parts of the device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set jforth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l shows a top or plan view ot a, part of a planter trame with my improved marking device applied thereto. The dotted lines show the marker arms in operative and inoperative positions. Fig. 2 shows an enlarged, detail, side `view ot one oli the marker arms. Fig. shows a top or plan view oit one end ot the beam that supports the inarler arm and the adjacent end ot one of the marker arms connected therewith by means of my improved device, the portion of the marker arm being shown in its position at rest. Fig. -ilshows a. like view illustrating the marker arm in its position for use. Jig. 5 shows an end view ot the beam tor supporting the marker arm with a portion olf' the marker arm connected therewith by means of my improved device, said mirl-:er arm being shown in position at rest. rig. (S shows a trout view ot' one end of the beam tor supporting the marker arm and a marker arm in posit-ion lor use and my iniproved connecting device :tor the marker arm. 'l`he dotted lines in said ligure show the position that the marker arm assumes when at rest. TEig. T shows a sectional view on the line T l l ot llig. (3, it being assumed that the marker arm is in the position shown by dotted lines in said ligure. Fig. 8 shows a detail view illustrating the adj ust-able limiting stop tor the chain, and llig. f) shows a detail perspective view illustrating lthe brackets that support the beam for the marker arm.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, l have used the reference numeral l to indicate that portion of a planter shown. ln order to attach my improvement to a planter7 it is necessary to provide two guide loops ll at the forward corners thereotl and a guide loop l2 on the tongue in line with the loops ll.

My improved marker attachment comprises a supporting beam 13 detachably connected with the rear olf the planter trame by means oit two brackets l-l. Gn each end portion ol said beam is a flat metal plate l arranged vertically on the front tace oit the beam and having a shoulder lo projected forwardly and arranged on an angle inclined downwardly and inwardly toward the center ot the planter, as clearly shown in Fig. t3. This plate also provided with a round opening 1T adjacent to the flange itl.

rlhe marker arm proper is supported upon a bolt, which bolt comprises a straight body portion 1S extended through the beam and throiiigh the plate l5 and then extended downwardly at lt), and then rearwardly a 20, its end being provided with a rounded head 21. 0n the rear oit the bolt are two locking nuts rl`he said bolt lis so arranged that tlie rounded head 2l is yieldingly held toward the plate lo and is capahle in one position et its i'novement ot entering the rounded opening 1T a short distance, as shown in Figs. G and 7, and said bolt head .is also free to slide on the plate l5. Each marker arm comprises a body portion Q3 having, at its inner end, two plates Qll and Cai e Yhe marker arm with the part @n the outer end of the f marker blade of ordinary here is also an eye-bolt 2T connected with the outer end of each marker arma fr chain 28 is attached at its ends to said eye-bolts 2? and is extended through the loops 11 and 12. rlhe chain is of such length that when one marker arm is in opera-tive position substantially at right-angles to tac longitudinal axis of the planter, the other marker arm will be in an inoperative position substantially parallel with the lonn gitudinal axis ef the planter, as shown in ln order to limit the movement of the marker arms relative to the loops 11, l have provided a adjustable split washer Q9, shown in Fig. S, which may be detachably connected with the chain Q8 to thereby limit the movement of the marker arm by engaging i Vith the adjacent loop 1-1. @ne of these washers is placed on the chain near each marker arm to thereby limit the movement of the marker arm.

ln practical use and assuming that the narlrer arms are in the position shown by solid lines in 1, then it is obvious that as the planter is advanced across a field, the marlrer blade will form a furrow in the ground parallel with a line on which the planter is advanced. rllhe resistance upon the 1olaoe caused by frictional engagement with the ground is sufficient to apply such tension to the chain as to normally hold the other n arlrer arm in an elevated position. Then, when turning around at the end of the field, the planter is turned toward the marker arm that previously formed the furrow thus releasing the tension upon the chain and permitting the other marker arm to drop by gravity toward the ground. rllhen, when the turning movement is completed, the other marker arm will swing outwardly to position substantially at rightangles to the planter and the first mentioned mai ier arm will be moi d to an elevated position substantially parallel with the planter.

lt is desirable that when either' marker arm moves from its position substantially parallel fith tlrx machine, it will move both downwardly and outwardly whenever the tension on the supporting chain is released. l order o successfully accomplish this function, have provided the structure illustrated for connecting the marker arm with the supporting beam. The arrangement of the bolt, comprising the parts 18, 19, 20 and 21, is such that when the marker arm is in position for forming a furrow, the marking blade will be in a substantially vertical position and will also be free to move up and down to conform to the irregularities in tl e ground surface, and then as the marlier arm swings forwardly and upwardly, it if desirable that it be turned on its pivot so Vs pivotal point will be inclined downward ly and toward the longitudinal center of the planter so that there will loe a tendency for the marker arm to swing downwardly and outwardly. This desirable result is accomplished h v means of the structure shown for the reason that when the marker arm is in position for use, the part 1S) of the bolt will be inclined downwardly and in a slight degree toward the longitudinal center' of the planter. Then as the marker arm swings forwardly and upwardly, the weight on the outer end thereof will operate to slide the head 21 of the bolt upwardly and toward the opening 1T, and when said head reaches the opening, it will be ).Yieldingly held therein and the marler arm will be held in such positionl that when the tension on thc chain is released, it will swing downwardly and out wardly at such an angle to insure its auto matic. operation by gravity as soon as the tension on the chain released.

rl`he flange 15 serves to pre Vvvent the head Q1 of the bolt from moving forwardly past the pening 1T, and it also serves another desirable function as follows: Assuming that the planter is to be transported without operation, then the operator may grasp each marke' arm and turn it around to position with the head of the bolt resting on top of the flange 16, and when in said position, the forward cnd of the marker arm may rest upon the forward portion of the planter so that all strains upon the holt that supports the marker arm will be relieved.

lt is desirable that when the marker arm is in position substantially parallel with the planter, that it be yieldingly held against pivotal movement relative to the supporting beam, as otherwise the part 19 of the holt might assume a substantially vertical position on account of the shaking of the planter so that when the chain became slaclcened, the marker arm would fail to move by gravity downwardly and outwardly.

l claim as my invention.

1. ln a device of the class described, the combination of a supporting beam, a plate fixed to the supporting beam in an upright position, a device pivoted to the supporting beam and having frictional engagement with said plate, a marker arm pivoted to said device and designed to rest upon the ground surface at its outer end, said parts being so arranged that, when the marker arm is moved to a forwardly extended position, it wil. be frictionally held by said device in such position that its forward end will tend to move by gravity downwardly and outwardly when it is released, for the purposes stated.

2. In a device of' the class described, the combination of a supporting beam, a plate fixed to it in an upright position, a bolt extended through the plate and beam in a Substantially horizontal position, and then downwardly, and then toward the plate, and a marker arm pivoted to the downwardly extended portion of' said bolt.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a supporting beam, a plate fixed to it in an upright position, a bolt exe tended through the plate and beam in a substantially horizontal position, and then downwardly, and then toward the plate, and a marker arm pivoted to the downwardly extended portion of said bolt, said plate being provided with an opening, and said bolt being provided with a rounded head to enter said opening, said opening being arranged relative to the plate and to the substantially horizontal portion of the bolt that when the head is in the opening, the substantially vertical portion of the bolt will extend downwardly and toward the central portion of the beam.

4. In a device of' the class described, the combination of a supporting beam, aplate fixed to it in an upright position, a bolt extended through the plate and beam in a substantially horizontal position, and then downwardly, and then toward the plate, and a marker arm pivoted to the downwardly extended portion of said bolt, said plate being provided with an opening, and said bolt being provided with a rounded head to enter said opening, said opening being arranged relative to the plate and to the substantially horizontal portion of.l the bolt that when the head is in the opening, the substantially vertical portion ot the bolt will extend downwardly and toward the central portion oi the beam, and a fiange formed on said plate near its inner end, said bolt being' capable oi swinging to position adjacent to the inner side of said flange.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination ofi' a planter' frame, a beam fixed to the rear thereof, a device on each end of the beam comprising a plate fixed to the forward side of the beam and provided with a fiange at its inner end extending downwardly and inwardly toward the longitudt nal center ofi' the planter, said plate also being provided with an opening adjacent to said flange, a bolt passed through the beam and the plate and extended downwardly in front of the plate and then rearwardly toward the plate and provided with a rounded head designed to partially enter said opening and to be capable of sliding on the plate, a marker arm pivoted to the downwardly extend .d portion of the bolt, a marker blade on the arm, a chain connected with the outer end of each marker arm, and means connected to the planter frame for slidingly supporting the chain relative to the frame, arranged and combined substantially in the manner set forth and for the purposes stated.

Des Moines, Iowa, June 12, i909.

LEROY J. LINUS AY.

Witnesses S. E. ELLIOTT, IV. R. ALLIsoN. 

